Selfluminous device

ABSTRACT

A self light-emitting device  1  has spherical photo-electric converting elements  2  that have a substantially spherical acceptance surface, respectively; a light emitting diode  3  that emits light using electric power generated by the spherical photo-electric converting elements  2;  a control circuit  5;  and a sealing member  4  that integrates the spherical photo-electric converting elements  2,  the light emitting diode  3  and the control circuit  5.  The control circuit  5  is equipped with a light emitting control circuit where a photo-detecting sensor  23  is incorporated, a charge control circuit and a condenser. Since the acceptance surface of the spherical photo-electric converting elements  2  is substantially spherical, electric power is generated due to incidental light from any angle. Since the sealing member  4  integrates the constructional elements, so the device is difficult to damage.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a self light-emitting device thatallows one or more luminous bodies to emit light using electric powergenerated by a photo-electric converting element.

BACKGROUND OF THE RELATED ART

Conventionally, various self light-emitting devices, which allow one ormore luminous bodies to emit light using electric power generated by aphoto-electric converting element, such as a solar battery, have beenproposed. For example, in the publication of Japanese Laid-Open PatentApplication Hei 9-49213, a road installation type signaling deviceequipped with a flat solar battery, multiple light emitting diodesarranged around the solar battery and a storage cell where electricpower generated by the solar battery is accumulated is proposed. In thissignaling device, the entire device is buried and installed in the road,and the electric power generated by the solar battery is accumulated inthe storage cell during the day, and the light emitting diodes blink dueto the electric power accumulated in the storage cell during the night.

In Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application Hei 8-199513, a light emittingindicator equipped with a flat solar battery, plural light emittingdiodes, a storage cell and an electric circuit, and in which theseconstructional elements are buried into transparent epoxy resin, isproposed. Even in this light emitting indicator, the electric powergenerated by the solar battery is accumulated in the storage cell duringthe day, and the light emitting diodes blinks using the electric powerduring the night. Burying the construction elements into the epoxy resinresults in improved weather resistance.

However, in the devices described in Japanese Laid-Open PatentApplication Hei 9-49213 and Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application Hei8-199513, since electric power is generated by a flat solar battery,high power electricity cannot be always generated during the day, butthe high power electricity can be generated only for several hours whenthe sunlight enters almost vertically into the solar battery at a smallangle of incidence. In other words, since the electric power required atnight has to be accumulated during several hours, the light receivingarea of the solar battery has to be large, with the problem that thedevice becomes excessively large.

When installing the devices described in Japanese Laid-Open PatentApplication Hei 9-49213 and Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application Hei8-199513 on a flat road, electric power can be accumulated in thestorage cell. However, if the devices are installed on a slope, such asa slope formed on an inclined plane on the north side, since a greatdeal of sunlight is reflected on the surface of the solar battery, thedesired electric power cannot be accumulated in the storage cell and thelight emitting diodes cannot emit light during the night, making itdifficult for drivers in vehicles traveling on the road to drive safely.

In recent years, a low cost, small and light weight self light-emittingdevice used for the purpose of safety at night by attaching it to abicycle, a bag or a cap has been desired. When attaching these devices,a self light-emitting device is often installed close to a verticalstate, and the electric power, which is supposed to accumulate in thestorage cell cannot be generated because the sunlight enters almostparallel to the acceptance surface, making it impossible to practicallyuse.

The objective of the present invention is to provide a selflight-emitting device, where electric power to be generated is notaffected by the installation location, and which can be manufactured ata low cost and is small and light weight.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The self light-emitting device of the present invention is characterizedby comprising a spherical photo-electric converting element having asubstantially spherical light receiving surface; a lens member thatguides or condenses light to the spherical photo-electric convertingelement; a luminous body that emits light using electric power generatedby the spherical photo-electric converting element; and a sealing memberembedding above described whole elements integrally. In this selflight-emitting device, when incidental light enters into the selflight-emitting device, the incidental light is guided or condensed bythe lens member; the incidental light is received on the substantiallyspherical light receiving surface of the spherical photo-electricconverting element, electric power is generated; and the luminous bodyemits light using the electric power. In this self light-emittingdevice, since the light receiving surface of the sphericalphoto-electric converting element is formed to be substantiallyspherical, electric power can be generated on average as long asincidental light enters without depending upon the angle of theincidental light. Therefore, with an outside installation, electricpower can be generated on average during the day regardless of the angleof incidence of the sunlight. In addition, when constructed toaccumulate the generated electricity in a storage cell, sufficientelectric power can be accumulated in the storage cell during the dayregardless of the position of sun for several hours as long as theweather is fine.

Even when attaching the device to a bicycle, a bag or a cap, sufficientelectric power can be always generated without being affected by theattached angle, so a luminous body can be emit the light. Sinceincidental light is guided or condensed by the lens member, even if thelight receiving area of the spherical photo-electric converting elementis small, strong incidental light is received on the light receivingsurface, so miniaturization and light weight of the photo-electricconverting element can be realized. On the same time, theminiaturization and light weight of the self light-emitting device canbe realized. Since the entire device is embedded integrally in thesealing member, any damage of the spherical photo-electric convertingelement or the luminous body due to rain can be prevented. Further,since inexpensive material can be used for each constitutional element,production cost can be reduced.

Herein, the following constitution may be appropriately adopted:

1) As the photo-electric converting element, multiple series-connectedspherical photo-electric converting elements are applicable.

2) A condenser for accumulating electric power generated by thespherical photo-electric converting element is provided.

3) A light emitting control circuit for controlling a conduction ofelectric power to the luminous body is provided.

4) A photo-detecting sensor is incorporated into the light emittingcontrol circuit.

5) The light emitting control circuit comprises an astable multivibratorincluding two transistors and multiple resistances.

6) A charge control circuit for controling charging to the condenser isprovided.

7) The lens member and the sealing member are formed with the same typeof synthetic resin material.

8) A partial spherical metallic reflection member for reflectingincident light to the lower surface side of each of the sphericalphoto-electric converting elements.

9) The reflection member may be made from a lead frame.

10) The photo-detecting sensor is made from an ultraviolet sensor, and adirect-current amplifying circuit to amplify a voltage according to theintensity of ultraviolet rays detected by the ultraviolet sensor andtransmits the amplified voltage, and is provided in the light emittingcontrol circuit.

11) A plurality of luminous bodies are provided, and the light emittingcontrol circuit allows any of the luminous bodies to emit light based onthe output from the ultraviolet sensor.

12) A schmitt trigger inverter and resistors are incorporated in thelight emitting control circuit in parallel for making the luminous bodyblink.

13) The condenser is a manganese dioxide-lithium secondary battery.

14) A reflection member formed with a light reflectible transparentresin is provided adjacent to the spherical photo-electric convertingelements and the luminous body.

15) The photo-detecting sensor is formed with cadmium sulfide (CdS).

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a plane view of the self light-emitting device of the firstembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view along II-II line in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a spherical photo-electricconverting element.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram for explaining a control system of the selflight-emitting device.

FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram for explaining a light emitting controlcircuit.

FIG. 6 is a circuit diagram for explaining a charge control circuit.

FIG. 7 is a circuit diagram of a light emitting control circuit relatingto a modified embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of a spherical photo-electricconverting element relating to a modified embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a plane view of a self light-emitting device of the secondembodiment.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view along X-X line in FIG. 9.

FIG. 11 is a plane view of a panel-type self light-emitting device.

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view along XII-XII line in FIG. 11.

FIG. 13 is a plane view of an ultraviolet monitoring device of the thirdembodiment.

FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view along XIV-XIV line in FIG. 13.

FIG. 15 is a circuit diagram of a light emitting control circuit of theultraviolet monitoring device in FIG. 13.

FIG. 16 is a perspective view of a self light-emitting cube of the forthembodiment.

FIG. 17 is a plane view of the self light-emitting name plane of thefifth embodiment.

FIG. 18 is a cross-sectional view of the self light-emitting name plateshown in FIG. 17.

FIG. 19 is a circuit diagram of a light emitting control circuit of theself light-emitting name plate shown in FIG. 17.

FIG. 20 is a plane view of a four-color self light-emitting device ofthe sixth embodiment.

FIG. 21 is a cross-sectional view along XXI-XXI line in FIG. 20.

FIG. 22 is a circuit diagram of the self light-emitting control circuitof the four-color self light-emitting device shown in FIG. 20.

FIG. 23 is a plane view of a self light-emitting pendant of the seventhembodiment.

FIG. 24 is a cross-sectional view along XXIV-XXIV line in FIG. 23.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiment 1 (refer toFIG. 1 through FIG. 7)

Embodiment 1 of the present invention are described hereafter, withreference to the drawings. The present embodiment is an example wherethe present invention is applied to a mobile self light-emitting device,where a light emitting diode blinks only in the state where light islow, such as at night.

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, a self light-emitting device 1 isequipped with six spherical photo-electric converting elements 2, alight emitting diode 3, a sealing member 4 and a control circuit 5.

The spherical photo-electric converting elements 2 are similar to thosedescribed in detail in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application2001-168369, and is briefly described here. As shown in FIG. 3, thespherical photo-electric converting element 2 is equipped with aspherical crystal 10 made from a p-type silicon semiconductor, thediameter of which is approximately 1.5 mm and resistivity isapproximately 1 Ω cm; an n-type diffusion layer 12 formed in thevicinity of the surface of the spherical crystal 10 for the purpose offorming a substantially spherical pn-joint 11; a positive electrode 13electrically connected to the p-type silicon of the spherical crystal10; a negative electrode 14 formed at a position point-symmetricallyfacing the positive-electrode 13 relative to the center of the sphericalcrystal 10, and electrically connected to the n-type diffusion layer 12;and an insulation film 15 formed on the surface of the spherical crystal10 at sections where the electrodes 13, 14 are not formed. In addition,an Al paste film 16 with approximately 20 μm of thickness is coated onthe surface of the positive electrode 13, and an Ag paste film 17 withapproximately 20 μm of thickness is coated on the surface of thenegative electrode 14. When light, such as sunlight, enters into thespherical photo-electric converting elements 2, the incidental lighttransmits through the n-type diffusion layer 12 and enters the pn-joint11, and a photo-electromotive force is generated on the pn-joint 11. Thephoto-electromotive force of these spherical photo-electric convertingelements 2 is approximately 0.6 V, and approximately 3-3.5 mA ofelectric current can be discharged.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, six spherical photo-electric convertingelements 2 are arranged around the light emitting diode 3 atapproximately 60° of intervals. The positive electrode 13 of eachspherical photo-electric converting element 2 is electrically connectedto the negative electrode 14 of the adjacent spherical photo-electricconverting element 2 by a copper line 18, respectively, and the sixspherical photo-electric converting elements 2 are connected with eachother in series. However, a positive electrode 13 a and a negativeelectrode 14 a, equivalent to both ends of the series connection amongthe positive electrodes 13 and the negative electrodes 14 in the sixphoto-electric converting elements 2, are connected to the controlcircuit 5 to accumulate the generated electric power.

The light emitting diode 3 has an AlGaAs-based hetero structure, and asshown in FIG. 1, is arranged substantially in the center of the selflight-emitting device 1. This light emitting diode 3 blinks only wherelight is low, such as at night, by the below-mentioned light emittingcontrol circuit 22 using the electric power generated by the sphericalphoto-electric converting elements 2 and accumulated in a condenser 21.

The sealing member 4 is formed with appropriate synthetic resin, such asepoxy resin, and embeds integrally the whole elements such as thespherical photo-electric converting elements 2, the light emitting diode3 and the control circuit 5. Condenser lenses 6 to guide or condenseincident light are integrally formed in a position corresponding to theexternal surface side of each spherical photo-electric convertingelement 2, respectively, and a projection lens 7 is also integrallyformed at a position corresponding to the light emitting diode 3, on theupper surface of the sealing member 4. As shown in FIG. 2, the surfacesof the condenser lenses 6 are formed to be hemispheric, regarding thespherical photo-electric converting element 2 as a center, respectively,and light entering the surfaces of the condenser lens 6 is condensed tothe spherical photo-electric converting element 2, respectively. Thesurface of the projection lens 7 is formed to be partially spheroidal,and light emitted from the light emitting diode 3 is diffused by theproject lens 7 and transmitted to the outside. Furthermore, the epoxyresin that forms the sealing member 4 including the lenses 6 and 7 is amaterial capable of transmitting a photo-electrically converted light bythe spherical photo-electric converting elements 2.

The control system of this self light-emitting device 1 is describednext.

As shown in FIG. 4, the control circuit 5 is equipped with a chargecontrol circuit 20, a condenser 21 made of a capacitor, and a lightemitting control circuit 22. These charge control circuit 20, condenser21 and light emitting control circuit 22 are mounted on the samesubstrate, and as shown in FIG. 2, are arranged on the lower sides ofthe spherical photo-electric converting elements 2 and the lightemitting diode 3. The control circuit 5, in a state in which electricpower is generated by the spherical photo-electric converting elements 2during the day, the light emitting control circuit 22 prohibits thelight emitting diode 3 from emitting light, and the generated electricpower is charged in the condenser 21 by the charge control circuit 20;and in a state in which light is low, such as at night, the lightemitting diode 3 is driven to emit blinking light by the light emittingcontrol circuit 22 using the electric power accumulated in the condenser21.

The charge control circuit 20 is for the control of the charge to thecondenser 21; to prevent excess current to the condenser 21; and toprevent reverse current to the spherical photo-electric convertingelements 2. As shown in FIG. 6, the charge control circuit 20 comprisesa diode D to prevent reverse current and a constant-voltage element ZD.

The operation of the charge control circuit 20 is described next.

The electric current generated by electric power generating device 2Awhere the six spherical photo-electric converting elements 2 areconnected in series is charged in the condenser 21 via the diode D. Ifincidental light to the electric power generating device 2A decreasesand the output voltage of the condenser 21 is greater than that of thespherical photo-electric converting elements 2, the diode D functions toprevent reverse current from the condenser 21 from reaching the electricpower generating device 2A. When the electric power accumulated in thecondenser 21 reaches a pre-determined voltage, the constant-voltageelement ZD grounds the electric power generated by the electric powergenerating device 2A, preventing excess current from reaching thecondenser 21 and enables the prolongation of the life of the condenser21. Furthermore, if the maximum output of the electric power generatingdevice 2A is smaller than the sum of the maximum allowable voltage andthe threshold voltage of the diode D, the constant-voltage element ZDcan be omitted. The light emitting control circuit 22 controls the powerdistribution to the light emitting diode 3 and for blinking the lightemitting diode 3 in a state in which light is low, such as at night. Asshown in FIG. 5, the light emitting control circuit 22 is a controlcircuit where a photo-detecting sensor 23 is incorporated into theastable multivibrator, which has two transistors Q1, Q2, four resistorsR1, R2, R3, R4 and condensers C1, C2. The photo-detecting sensor 23 isan optical response resistive element mainly formed with CdS, and itsresistance value changes depending upon the quantity of a receivedlight. Furthermore, the resistance values of each resistor are, forexample, R1=3.3 Ω, R2=1 MΩ, R3=510 kΩ and R4=51 kΩ.

The operation of this light emitting control circuit 22 is describednext.

First, an operation in a state in which light has been detected by thephoto-detecting sensor 23, such as during the day, is described. In astate in which the light has been detected by the photo-detecting sensor23, because the resistance value for the photo-detecting sensor 23decreases and the base of the transistor Q1 is grounded, the baseelectrical potential of the transistor Q1 decreases to a threshold orless, and no conduction between a collector and emitter of thetransistor Q1 occurs and no electric current flows to the resistor R1.In the meantime, the base electric potential of the transistor Q2becomes a threshold or greater, so electric current flows from theresistor R4 to the earth. However, due to 51 kΩ of resistance value onthe resistor R4 and the maximum voltage 3V applied to the resistor R4,the maximum electric current flowing into the resistor R4 is onlyseveral dozens μA. In the meantime, because the electric current flowingfrom the electric power generating device 2A to the condenser 21 isseveral mA, charging the condenser 21 is hardly affected.

An operation where the light emitting diode 3 is driven to blink by thelight emitting control circuit 22 when no light is detected by thephoto-detecting sensor 23, such as at night, is described next.

In a state in which light is low, such as at night, if no light isdetected by the photo-detecting sensor, the resistance value for thephoto-detecting sensor 23 increases and the base electric potential ofthe transistor Q1 gradually ascends. Accompanying the ascent of the baseelectric potential of the transistor Q1, electric current flowing in theresistor R2 flows via the condenser C2, so electrical charge isaccumulated in the condenser C2.

When the base electric potential of the transistor Q1 reaches thethreshold, the cut-off state between the collector and the emitter ofthe transistor Q1 instantaneously changes to the conduction state. In astate in which light is detected by the photo-detecting sensor 23,positive electric charge is accumulated in the electrode of thecondenser C1 on the resistor R1 side, and negative electric charge isaccumulated in the electrode of the condenser C1 on the resistor R3side. Because conduction between the collector and the emitter of thetransistor Q1 causes the instantaneous descent of the electric potentialat a junction point P1 of the light emitting diode 3, the resistor R1and the condenser C1, and the base electric potential of the transistorQ2 becomes a threshold or less due to the electric charge accumulated inthe condenser C1, and the transistor Q2 is blocked.

In the meantime, the conduction of the transistor Q1 causes the flow ofthe electric current via a route of the light emitting diode 3, theresistor R1 and between the collector and the emitter of the transistorQ1; and the light emitting diode 3 emits light. Because the electriccurrent flows into the condenser C1 via the resistor R3, only apre-determined quantity of the electric charge accumulated in thecondenser C1 is discharged. After the electric charge is discharged dueto the electric current flowing via the resistor R4, the electric chargeis accumulated in the condenser C2.

Since the condenser C1 is gradually charged due to the electric currentflowing into the resistor R3, the base electric potential of thetransistor Q2 gradually ascends. When the base electric potential of thetransistor Q2 reaches the threshold, the cut-off state between thecollector and the emitter of the transistor Q2 instantaneously changesto the conduction state. When the conduction of the transistor Q2 causesgrounding of the collector of the transistor Q2, the base electricpotential of the transistor Q1 instantaneously descends to the thresholdor less due to the electric charges accumulated in the condenser C2, andconduction between the collector and the emitter of the transistor Q1instantaneously changes to the cut-off state.

When the transistor Q2 is conducted, the electric current flows via theroute of the light emitting diode 3, the condenser C1 and between thebase and the emitter of the transistor Q2, and via a route of theresistor R3 and between the base and the emitter of the transistor Q2.When the condenser C1 is charged to a pre-determined quantity due to theelectric current flowing via the light emitting diode 3, no electriccurrent flows into the light emitting diode 3 and the light electricdiode 3 turns the light out. The accumulated electric charge isgradually discharged into the condenser C2 due to the electric currentflowing via the resistor R2, and the condenser C2 is charged. As thecondenser C2 is charged, the base electric potential of the transistorQ1 gradually ascends, and when it reaches a threshold, the transistor Q1conducts. In the meantime, the transistor Q2 is cut off and the lightemitting diode 3 emits light again. Subsequently, the operation isrepeated, and the light emitting diode 3 is driven to blink.

Compared to the internal resistance of the light emitting diode 3 andthe resistance value of the resistor R4, which are the charging route ofthe condenser C1 and the condenser C2, the resistance values for theresistor R3 and the resistor R2 are established to be sufficientlygreat, so the interval time to blink the light emitting diode 3 isdetermined according to the discharge time C1 and C2, respectively. Inother words, the time to emit light and to turn the light off dependsupon (the electric capacity of the condenser C1)×(the resistance valueof the resistor R3) and (the electric capacity of the condenser C2)×(theresistance value of the resistor R2).

The test results are described next. When using the self light-emittingdevice 1 where a capacitor with 2 F of electrostatic capacity is appliedas the condenser 21, when the sample is charged under the 100,000 l× ofilluminance within a solar simulator, electric power is accumulated inthe condenser 21 in 1 hour, and it is possible that the light emittingdiode 3 emits blinking light for 8 hours or longer with a light emittingpattern of 1-3 mcd of emission luminance and 30% of duty ratio.Furthermore, this self light-emitting device 1 is configured withapproximately 20 mm of diameter, approximately 3 mm of thicknessaccording to a planar view, and approximately 5 g of weight. When usingthe self light-emitting device 1 where a capacitor with 0.47 F ofelectrostatic capacity is applied as the condenser 21, when the sampleis charged under 100,000 l× of illuminance within a solar simulator, theelectric power is accumulated in the condenser 21 in 20 min., and it ispossible that the light emitting diode 3 emits blinking light for 2hours or longer with a light emitting pattern of 1-3 mcd of emissionluminance and 30% of duty ratio. Furthermore, the self light-emittingdevice 1 with this construction is configured with approximately 12 mmof diameter and approximately 3 mm of thickness according to a planarview, and approximately 3 g of weight.

An operation and the efficacy of the self light-emitting device 1 isdescribed next. With this self light-emitting device 1, since the lightreceiving surface (pn-joint 11) of the spherical photo-electricconverting elements 2 that generate electric power is formed to besubstantially spherical, respectively, when the present embodiment, itis possible to generate electric power relative to incidental light atany angle from the upper side, and electric power can be generatedregardless of the installation location or installation angle and thegenerated electric power can accumulate in the condenser 21, improvingthe degree of freedom for the installation location and the installationangle. The establishment of the six spherical photo-electric convertingelements 2 enhances the power generation voltage to be 6 times greatercompared to when generating electric power by one sphericalphoto-electric converting element 2, realizing a reduction of chargingtime. Since the condenser lenses 6 are formed, incident light can becondensed and received on the spherical photo-electric convertingelements 2, so the introduction efficiency of light, such as sunlight,can be improved. As described above, since it is possible to blink thelight emitting diode 3 for 8 hours with 1 hour of accumulation ofelectric power, even though the weather may be somewhat bad, thesituation where the light emitting diode 3 will no longer emit light canbe prevented.

The self light-emitting device 1 can greatly realize the describedminiaturization and light weight, so it can be easily carried, and evenif it is attached to a bag or a cap, the user hardly feels a burden. Thesealing member 4 including the lenses 6, 7 embeds integrally the wholeelements such as the spherical photo-electric converting elements 2, thelight emitting diode 3 and the control circuit 5, so the selflight-emitting device 1 is resistant to rain and dust, with excellentweather resistance, and it can be installed at any location, and even ifit is carried, it will not become damaged. Forming the lenses 6, 7 withepoxy resin, which is the same as the sealing member 4, enablesadditional improvement of strength.

Since the self light-emitting device 1 is equipped with the condenser21, the light emitting diode 3 can emit light even in a state in whichit is impossible to generate electric power by the sphericalphoto-electric converting elements 2, such as at night. The applicationof an astable multivibrator to the light emitting control circuit 22enables blinking the light emitting diode 3, with improved surroundingvisibility. Since the photo-detecting sensor 23 is incorporated in theposition shown in FIG. 5, the grounded electric current from thecondenser 21 can be controlled to be minimal, shortening the chargingtime, and, and emission from the light emitting diode 3 can beprohibited. Since the self light-emitting device 1 is equipped with thecharge control circuit 20 shown in FIG. 6, any excess current to thecondenser 21 can be prevented, and any reverse current to the sphericalphoto-electric converting elements 2 from the condenser 21 can also beprevented, prolonging the life of the condenser 21 and the sphericalphoto-electric converting elements 2.

A modified embodiment of the light emitting control circuit 22 isdescribed next. The astable multivibrator using transistors is appliedto the light emitting control circuit 22. However, as shown in FIG. 7, alight emitting control circuit 22A that has an astable multivibratorusing IC can be applied. Furthermore, the same ones as those of theembodiment are applied to the photo-detecting sensor 23, the lightemitting diode 3 and the condenser 21, respectively, so the samereference numerals are used and the description is omitted.

An operation of the light emitting control circuit 22A is describednext. Since the light emitting control circuit 22 is a control circuitwhere the photo-detecting sensor 23 is applied to a general IC typeastable multivibrator 25, it is briefly described. In a state in whichlight is detected by the photo-detecting sensor 23, such as during theday, electric current discharged from the condenser 21 is grounded viathe resistor R5 and the photo-detecting sensor 23, an input terminal I2of an NAND circuit ND4 is always maintained at a low level, so theoutput of the NAND circuit ND4 becomes a high level. Therefore, sinceelectric current will not flow into the light emitting diode 3, thelight emitting diode 3 will not emit light. However, since a resistorwith a very great resistance value is applied to the resistor R5, evenif light is detected by the photo-detecting sensor 23, electric currentdischarged from the condenser 21 via the resistor R5 is small, socharging the condenser will hardly be affected.

Operation of the light emitting control circuit 22A is described in astate in which light is hardly detected by the photo-detecting sensor23, such as at night, so the resistance value for the photo-detectingsensor 23 becomes greater and electric current hardly flows into thephoto detecting sensor 23. Since electric current hardly flows into thephoto-detecting sensor 23 in this state, the input terminal I2 of theNAND circuit ND4 is always at a high level. If the input side of an NANDcircuit ND1 is initially at a low level and no electric charge has beenaccumulated in the condenser C4, since the output side of the NANDcircuit ND1 is at a high level, electric current flows to the output ofthe NAND circuit ND1, the condenser C4, a resistor R7, a diode D2 andthe output of an NAND circuit ND2, and electric charge is accumulated inthe condenser C4.

The condition where the electric charge has started being accumulated inthe condenser C4 is the same condition where the condenser C4 isshort-circuited, so the input of the NAND circuit ND2 becomes a highlevel. As a result, the output of the NAND circuit ND2 is at a lowlevel. In this state, the input of the NAND circuit ND3 becomes a lowlevel and the output becomes a high level, so the input terminal I1 ofthe NAND circuit ND4 also becomes a high level. As a result, because theinput terminal I2 of the NAND circuit ND4 is also at a high level, theoutput of the NAND circuit ND4 becomes a low level, and electric currentflows into the light emitting diode 3 from the condenser 21, and thelight emitting diode 3 emits light.

Next, when the electric charge is accumulated in the condenser C4, theelectric current flowing into the condenser C4 diminishes, and thevoltage on the input side of the NAND circuit ND2 gradually descends,and when the voltage on the input side of the NAND ND2 becomes athreshold voltage, the input of the NAND circuit ND2 instantaneouslybecomes a low level. Associated with this, the output becomes a highlevel. When the output of the NAND circuit ND2 becomes a high level, theinput of the NAND circuit ND3 becomes a high level and the outputbecomes a low level. Then, the input terminal I1 of the NAND circuit ND4becomes a low level. As a result, because the output of the NAND circuitND4 becomes a high level, no electric current flows into the lightemitting diode 3, and the light emitting diode 3 no longer emits light.

Next, when the output of the NAND circuit ND2 becomes a high level, theinput of the NAND circuit ND1 also becomes a high level. No electriccurrent flows into the diode D2, but the electric current flows into theoutput of the NAND circuit ND2, the condenser C3, the resistor R6, thediode D1 and the output of the NAND circuit ND1. Since the output of theNAND circuit ND1 is at a low level, the electric charge accumulated inthe condenser C4 is discharged. When the electric charge is accumulateddue to the electric current from the output of the NAND circuit ND2, thevoltage of the input of the NAND circuit ND1 gradually descends, andwhen the voltage becomes a threshold voltage or less, the output of theNAND circuit ND1 becomes a high level, so the light emitting diode 3emits light. As mentioned above, the repetition of the operation resultsin driving the light emitting diode 3 to blink.

When the condenser 21 with 2 F of electrostatic capacity is applied tothe electric power generating control circuit 22A shown in FIG. 7 andelectric power is accumulated under 100,000 l× of illuminance within asolar simulator, it is confirmed that the electric power accumulates in1 hour, and the light emitting diode 3 emits light for 16 hours orlonger with a light emission pattern of 1-3 mcd of light emissionluminance and 30% of duty ratio. Furthermore, the self light-emittingdevice 1 with this construction can be configured with approximately 20mm of diameter and approximately 8 mm of thickness according to a planarview, and approximately 7 g of weight.

Embodiment 2 (refer to FIG. 9 through FIG. 12)

A self light-emitting device in Embodiment 2 is described next. Thepresent embodiment is an example of applying the present invention to aself light-emitting device that has a wavelength conversion displayfunction to receive infrared rays from the sunlight and to convert andemit them as visible rays.

As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, a self light-emitting device 101 is equippedwith six spherical photo-electric converting elements 102, a visiblelight LED chip 103, a sealing member 104, and lead frames 131, 132.Furthermore, the six converting elements 102, the sealing member 104, acircuit where the six converting elements 102 are connected in series,and lenses 106 are substantially similar to those in above describedembodiment, so only different construction is described. Furthermore,the converting elements 102 generate electric power due to visible raysin the sunlight, as well, but they excel in its special quality of thepower generation due to infrared rays.

The LED chip 103 emits colored visible rays due to electric powergenerated by the converting elements 102. The sealing member 104 isformed with transparent synthetic resin, such as epoxy resin, and itembeds integrally is the whole elements, such as the six convertingelements 102, the LED chip 103 and lead frames 131, 132.

The six condenser lenses 106 corresponding to the six convertingelements 102 are formed on the upper side of the sealing member 104, andeach condenser lens 106 is formed to be hemispheric. One projection lens107 is formed to be hemispheric on the lower side of the sealing member104 regarding the LED chip 103 as a center.

The five lead frames 131 and a lead frame 132 have a partially sphericalreflector where incident light can be reflected, respectively, and thelead frame 132 has an extension 132 a extending toward the center. Theconverting elements 102 are positioned on the focal points of thereflectors of a total of six lead frames 131, 132, respectively.Therefore, infrared rays that have not entered into the convertingelements 102 but have transmitted are reflected on the reflectors of thelead frames 131, 132, and enter into the converting elements 102arranged on the focal positions of the reflectors.

Positive electrodes 113 of the converting elements 102 are connected tothe reflectors of the corresponding lead frames 131, 132 using aconductive adhesive, respectively. A positive electrode 133 of the LEDchip 103 is connected to the lower surface of the extension 132 a of thelead frame 132 using a conductive adhesive, and a negative electrode 134of the LED chip 103 is connected to an electrode 135 adjacent to the LEDchip 103 by a copper wire 118. The electrode 135 is connected to thenegative electrode 114 of one of the converting elements 102 by thecopper wire 118. The positive electrodes 136 in the vicinity of the endof each lead frame 131 are electrically connected to the negativeelectrode 114 of the adjacent converting element 102 by the copper wire118, respectively, and the six converting elements 102 are connected tothe lead frames 131, 132 in series by the five copper wires 118 asillustrated.

In this self light-emitting device 101, electric power is generated whenthe six converting elements 102 receive infrared rays, and the electricpower is supplied to the LED chip 103 and colored light is emitted. Thisis equivalent to a wavelength conversion device that convertsnon-visible infrared rays into visible rays.

The self light-emitting device 101 itself is independently usable.However, as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, the arrangement of multiple selflight-emitting devices 101 between two transparent panels 137 andsealing them to be buried using transparent synthetic resin enables theconstruction of a panel-type self light-emitting device 138, as well.With the self light-emitting device 138 shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, theself light-emitting devices 101 are arranged to be a matrix with threerows and four columns.

For example, if the LED chip 103 emits red-colored light, and if theheadlights of an oncoming vehicle is irradiated; it can be used as adisplay unit to emit a red-colored light indicating a hazard display.Further, the arrangement of multiple LED chips 103 to be apre-determined figure or letter enables the display of the figure orletter. Further, if multiple LED chips 103 are arranged to bedot-matrix, the control of the LED chips 103 to be ON/OFF enables thedisplay of various figures and/or letters. Other construction, operationand efficacy are similar to those in the embodiment.

Embodiment 3 (refer to FIG. 13 through FIG. 15)

A self light-emitting device relating to Embodiment 3 is described next.

The present embodiment is an example where the present invention isapplied to an ultraviolet monitoring device, which is a selflight-emitting device, where three light emitting diodes with differentluminous colors from each other are arranged and a selected lightemitting diode emits light according to the intensity of ultravioletrays. Only the constructions different from that of Embodiment 1 aredescribed.

As shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, an ultraviolet monitoring device 201 isequipped with twenty-four spherical photo-electric converting elements202, three light emitting diodes 203 that emit the three colors of RGB,respectively, an ultraviolet sensor 223, a sealing member 204, a printedsubstrate 206 and a light emitting control circuit 205.

As shown in FIG. 15, the three light emitting diodes 203 indicate a red(R) light emitting diode LED1, a yellow (Y) light emitting diode LED2and a green (G) light emitting diode LED3. In the ultraviolet monitoringdevice 201, the intensity of the ultraviolet rays to be detected by anultraviolet sensor 223 is graded to three levels, Level 1 (weak), Level2 (medium) and Level 3 (strong), and the G, Y and R light emittingdiodes emit light corresponding to the Levels 1, 2 and 3, respectively.The twenty-four converting elements 202 are arranged on the surface ofthe printed substrate 206 to form a matrix with six rows and fourcolumns. The converting elements 202 are similar to the sphericalphoto-electric converting elements 2 in Embodiment 1. However, they arearranged on the printed substrate 206 where the conductive direction toconnect the positive and negative electrodes is aligned in a columndirection, and for example, the converting elements 202 in each columnare connected in series and the converting elements 202 in each row areconnected in parallel.

In other words, the twenty-four converting elements 202 constituteelectric power generating device 221 by connecting in series and inparallel. This electric power generating device 221 generatesapproximately 3.6 V of photo-electromotive force when the weather isfine. The ultraviolet sensor 223 is made of a photodiode, and generatesvoltage according to the intensity of the received ultraviolet raysintegrally. For example, the sealing member 204 formed with transparentepoxy resin covers the whole elements, such as the twenty-fourconverting elements 202, the three light emitting diodes 203, theprinted substrate 206, the light emitting control circuit 205 and theultraviolet sensor 223. A reflector film to reflect incident lighttoward the converting elements 202 is formed on the surface of theprinted substrate 206. Furthermore, lenses corresponding to theconverting elements 202 can be integrally formed on the surface of thesealing member 204. The light emitting control circuit 205 isincorporated on the rear surface of the printed substrate 206, and iscovered with the sealing member 204.

As shown in FIG. 15, the light emitting control circuit 205 is equippedwith a direct-current amplifying circuit 241 and a diode drive circuit242, and drives the light emitting diodes 203 so as to allow eitherlight emitting diode 203 to emit light according to the output of theultraviolet sensor 223.

The direct-current amplifying circuit 241 is connected to theultraviolet sensor 223; the direct current amplifying circuit 241 isequipped with operational amplifiers OP1, OP2, resistors R9 through R15and condensers C5 through C7; and amplifies voltage generated accordingto the intensity of the ultraviolet rays detected by the ultravioletsensor 223; and transmits the voltage.

The operational amplifiers OP1, OP2 are inverting amplifiers wherefeedback is applied by the resistors R11, R15, and they are operablewith a unipolar light source due to the output from the solar battery. Areference voltage is applied to the plus input terminals of theoperational amplifiers OP1, OP2 from the electric power generatingdevice 221 by voltage dividing resistors R9, R10; and R13, R14 from theelectric power generating device 221, respectively. The output terminalof the ultraviolet sensor 223 is connected to the minus input terminalof the operational amplifier OP1.

When the ultraviolet sensor 223 receives sunlight, it generates voltageaccording to the intensity of the ultraviolet rays in the sunlight. Inthe operational amplifier OP1, the input voltage is invertinglyamplified in order for the voltage of the minus input terminal to be thesame electric potential as the voltage of the plus input terminal due tothe feedback effect by the resistor R11, so the greater the intensity ofthe ultraviolet rays, the more the electric potential of the outputterminal of the operational amplifier OP1 descends. Similarly, the inputvoltage is invertingly amplified in the operational amplifier OP2.Therefore, the output of the ultraviolet sensor 223 is non-invertinglyamplified due to the repetition of inverting amplification twice by theoperational amplifiers OP1, OP2, and the greater the intensity of theultraviolet rays becomes, the higher the output voltage of theoperational amplifier OP2 becomes.

The output voltage of the operational amplifier OP2 is applied to theminus input terminals of comparators CP1, CP2 of the diode drive circuit242. The diode drive circuit 242 for driving the three light emittingdiodes 203 (LED1 through LED3) is connected to the electric powergenerating device 221, and the diode drive circuit 242 has comparatorsCP1, CP2 and resistors R16 through R21.

Reference voltages V1, V2 are applied to the comparators CP1, CP2 fromthe electric power generating device 221 via the voltage dividingresistors R16 through R18, respectively. The comparators CP1, CP2compare the reference voltages V1, V2 of the plus input terminal withthe voltage of the minus input terminal, an ‘H’ level signal istransmitted if the reference voltages V1, V2 are higher, and a ‘L’ levelsignal is transmitted if the reference voltages V1, V2 are lower.

An operation to drive the light emitting diodes LED1 through LED3, whoseluminous colors are different from each other, according to theintensity of the ultraviolet rays is described. If an output voltage V0of the direct-current amplifying circuit 241 is lower than the referencevoltage V2 to be applied to the comparator CP2 (the intensity of theultraviolet rays is weak: Level 1), the output of the comparator CP2becomes the ‘H’ level, and the light emitting diode LED 3 emits greenlight. However, since the output terminal of the comparator CP1 alsotransmits a ‘H’ level signal, the input terminal and the output terminalare the same electric potential on the light emitting diodes LED1, LED2,so these diodes do not emit light.

Next, if the output voltage V0 of the direct-current amplifying circuit241 is a value between the reference voltage V1 of the comparator CP1and the reference voltage V2 of the comparator CP2 (the intensity of theultraviolet rays is medium: Level 2), the comparator CP2 transmits an‘L’ level signal, and the comparator CP1 transmits an ‘H’ level signal.Therefore, the light emitting diode LED2 emits yellow light. However,the input terminal and the output terminal are the same electricpotential on the light emitting diodes LED1, LED3, so these diodes donot emit light.

Next, if the output voltage V0 of the direct-current amplifying circuit241 is higher than the reference voltage V1 of the comparator CP1 (theintensity of the ultraviolet rays is strong: Level 3), the outputs ofthe comparators CP1, CP2 become both the ‘L’ level, so the lightemitting diode LED1 emits red light. However, the input terminal and theoutput terminal are the same electric potential on the light emittingdiodes LED2, LED3, so these diodes do not emit light.

As described above, according to the intensity of the ultraviolet raysreceived by the ultraviolet sensor 223, the ultraviolet monitoringdevice 201 operates the green light emitting diode if the intensity ofthe ultraviolet rays is weak; operates the yellow light emitting diodeif the intensity of the ultraviolet rays is medium; and operates the redlight emitting diode if the intensity of the ultraviolet rays is strong,so it can be displayed at three levels.

Next, examples of the resistance values for the resistors and thecapacity of the condensers incorporated into a circuit, are as follows:R9=750 kΩ, R10=220 kΩ, R11=220 kΩ, R12=10 kΩ, R13=750 kΩ, R14=220 kΩ,R15=82 kΩ, R16=1 MΩ, R17=470 kΩ, R18=1 MΩ, R19=56 Ω, R20=22 Ω, R21=22 Ω,C5=68 pF, C6=68 pF and C7=10 μF.

Furthermore, not limiting to the three-level display according to theintensity of the ultraviolet rays, it is also possible to display fourlevels or more by increasing the comparators to 3 systems or more. Evenfor the number of the light emitting diodes 203, not one diode per colorbut multiple diodes can emit light per color, and the luminous colors ofthe light emitting diodes can be appropriately selected from applicablevarious light emitting diodes. In the present embodiment, the electricpower generating device 221 is directly applied as a light source.However, it can be constructed so that a condenser or a secondarybattery is established instead of the electric power generating device221 shown in FIG. 15, to supply the generated electric power by theelectric power generating device 221 shown in FIG. 13 to the condenseror secondary battery.

Embodiment 4 (refer to FIG. 16)

A self light-emitting device relating to Embodiment 4 is described next.

The present embodiment is an example of when applying the presentinvention to a self light-emitting cube 301 where electricity isgenerated by multiple spherical photo-electric converting elements 302,and a white-color light emitting diode 303 situated in the center of atransparent cube emits light. The spherical photo-electric convertingelements 302 and its series-connected circuit are substantially similarto those in the Embodiment 1, so its description is omitted, and onlythe different constructions are described. As shown in FIG. 16, the selflight-emitting cube 301 is equipped with eight converting elements 302on the upper surface side, another eight converting elements 302 on thelower surface side, a white-color light emitting diode 303 and a cubesealing member 304.

The sealing member 304 is formed to be a cube using transparent epoxyresin in a state where both upper and lower converting elements 302 andthe white-color light emitting diode 303 are buried. The white-colorlight emitting diode 303 is arranged in the center of the sealing member304, and the entire sealing member 304 functions as a light transmissionmember to transmit light through.

The upper eight and lower eight spherical photo-electric convertingelements 302 are arranged around the inside of the externalcircumference on the surface of circle translucent glass epoxy substrate306 along the circumferential direction at approximately 45° ofintervals, respectively, and the eight converting elements 302 areconnected by copper wires (not shown) in series, respectively. The eightconverting elements 302 are arranged on the upper surface of onesubstrate 306 on the upper side, and another eight converting elements302 are arranged on the lower surface of the other substrate 306 on thelower side, and, the upper converting element series-connected body andthe lower converting element series-connected body are connected inparallel.

Any description about the light emitting control circuit is omitted, butit is designed that the white-color light emitting diode 303 directlyemits light using electric power generated by the converting elements302. Therefore, when either upper or lower eight sphericalphoto-electric converting elements 302 in the cube-shaped sealing member304 receive light, the white-color light emitting diode 303 emits lightdue to the photo-electromotive force, so the light emission can beclearly confirmed even under an incandescent light or with a cloudy skyoutside. Other construction, effect and efficacy are similar to those ofembodiments described hereinbefore.

Embodiment 5 (refer to FIG. 17 through FIG. 19)

A self light-emitting device relating to Embodiment 5 is described next.

The present embodiment is an example where the present invention isapplied to a self light-emitting name plate (equivalent to a selflight-emitting device), where a white-color light emitting diodeestablished on the name plate emits light due to a photo-electromotiveforce generated by multiple spherical photo-electric convertingelements.

Spherical photo-electric converting elements 402 are similar to thespherical photo-electric converting elements 2 in Embodiment 1, so thedetailed description is omitted, and only the different construction isdescribed.

As shown in FIGS. 17 and 18, a self light-emitting name plate 401 isequipped with the twenty-one spherical photo-electric convertingelements 402, a printed substrate 406, a white-color light emittingdiode 403, a sealing member 404 and a light emitting control circuit405.

Each converting element 402 has a positive electrode 413 and a negativeelectrode 414. The twenty-one converting elements 402 are arranged ateven intervals to be along the inside of the external circumference ofthe upper surface of the rectangular printed substrate 406; theconverting elements 402 are divided into three groups containing sevenconverting elements per group; the converting elements 402 in each groupare connected by a copper wire in series; and the three series-connectedbodies are connected by copper wires 419 in parallel.

The light emitting control circuit 405 is arranged on the rear surfaceof the substrate 406, and the printed substrate 406, the twenty-oneconverting elements 402, the light emitting diode 403 and the lightemitting control circuit 405 are embedded in the sealing member 404 andthey are integrally fixed, and this self light-emitting name plate 401is constructed to be a thin rectangular plate as a whole.

As shown in FIG. 19, an electric double layer capacitor 421 (1 F ofcapacity) is established as a condenser where electric power is suppliedfrom electric power generating device 402A having twenty-one convertingelements 402 via a reverse-flow prevention diode D3. The light emittingcontrol circuit 405 is equipped with a resistor R22, a schmitt triggerinverter IV1 connected to the white-color light emitting diode 403, aresistor R23 parallel-connected to this inverter, and a condenser C8connected to the inverter IV1 and the resistor R23.

The inverter IV1 is an inverter where a threshold when shifting from the‘L’ level to the ‘H’ level is established to be greater than a thresholdwhen shifting from the ‘H’ level to the ‘L’ level, and it stablyoperates with fewer malfunctions.

An operation of the light emitting control circuit 405 is describednext.

In the initial status, no electric charge is charged in the condenserC8, so the input terminal of the inverter IV1 is on the ‘L’ level, andthe ‘H’ level signal is transmitted from the output terminal of theinverter IV1. As a result, the input and output terminals of thewhite-color light emitting diode 403 become the same electric potential,so the white-color light emitting diode 403 does not emit light. The ‘H’level voltage transmitted from the output terminal of the inverter IV1is charged in the condenser C8 via the resistor R23. When the electricpotential of the input terminal of the inverter terminal IV1 ascendsaccompanied with the charging and reaches the threshold, the ‘L’ levelsignal is transmitted to the output terminal of the inverter IV1, andelectric current flows into the output terminal of the inverter IV1 fromthe condenser C8 via the resistor R23, so the electric potential of theinput terminal of the inverter IV1 descends and the diode 403 puts thelight off.

Hereafter, similarly, the diode 403 repeats the lighting ON and OFF andoperates blinking. The cycle of this repetition is determined dependingupon the resistor R23 and the condenser C8, and the electric current andthe intensity of the light emission are determined depending upon theresistor R22.

The next shows the results of a test, where the resistance values forthe resistors and the capacity of the condenser arranged in this lightemitting control circuit 405 are established as follows: R22=22 Ω,R23=220 kΩ and condenser C8=10 μF. The light emission could clearly beconfirmed visually in the fine weather outside, and even after moving toa dark place three hours later, the blinking light emission continuedfor 3 hours.

Embodiment 6 (refer to FIG. 20 through FIG. 22)

A self light-emitting device relating to Embodiment 6 is described next.

The present embodiment is an example where the present invention isadopted to a four-color self light-emitting device, where electric powergenerated by twelve spherical photo-electric converting elements ischarged in a secondary battery, and where four light emitting diodeswith four different colors from each other emit light to blink using theelectric power. Spherical photo-electric converting elements 502 aresimilar to the spherical photo-electric converting elements 2 inEmbodiment 1, and for a light emitting control circuit 505, four controlcircuits, which are similar to the light emitting control circuit 405 inEmbodiment 5, are arranged.

As shown in FIGS. 20 and 21, the four-color self light-emitting device501 is equipped with the twelve converting elements 502, the four lightemitting diodes 503 with different luminous color from each other, aprinted substrate 506, a sealing member 504, the light emitting controlcircuit 505 and a switch 541 generally.

The sealing member 504 is formed from, for example, transparent epoxyresin, and it adheres to the whole elements, such as the twelveconverting elements 502, the light emitting diodes 503, the printedsubstrate 506, the light emitting control circuit 505 and the switch541, and they are integrated. The front surface side of the sealingmember 504 is formed to be a convex lens and it functions as a lens.

The four light emitting diodes 503 indicate a red-color light emittingdiode (R), a blue-color light emitting diode (B), a yellow-color lightemitting diode (Y) and a green-color light emitting diode (G). These arearranged to be matrix with two rows and two columns in the center of theupper surface of the substrate 506 where the light emitting controlcircuit 505 is mounted. The twelve converting elements 502 are arrangedin the vicinity of the external circumference on the circular substrate506 at approximately 30° of intervals, and these converting elements 502are connected in series by a copper wire 518, and they constituteelectric power generating device 502A. The switch 541 is arranged in thevicinity of the lower end of the light emitting control circuit 505. Adiode D4 for reverse-flow prevention, a manganese dioxide-lithiumsecondary battery 521, the switch 541 and the light emitting controlcircuit 505 are mounted on the rear surface of the substrate 506.

As shown in FIG. 22, four systems of light emitting controllers for thepurpose of emitting a red-color light emitting diode LED4, a blue-colorlight emitting diode LED5, a yellow-color light emitting diode LED6 anda green-color light emitting diode LED7 are arranged in the lightemitting control circuit 505.

Each light emitting controller is similar to the light emitting controlcircuit 405 in Embodiment 5, and the light emitting controller for thered-color light emitting diode LED4 has a resistor R24, a schmitttrigger inverter IV2, a resistor R28 connected to the inverter IV2 inparallel, and a condenser C9 connected to these inverter IV2 andresistor R28, and, it is operated in a manner similar to the lightemitting control circuit 405 in Embodiment 5. Other three light emittingcontrollers also have similar construction, and they are similarlyoperated.

The electric power generated by the electric power generating device502A is charged in the secondary battery 521, and when the switch 541 isturned ON, the electric power is supplied to a power supply input of theinverters IV2 through IV5 and the four light emitting controllers fromthe secondary battery 521, and the four light emitting diodes LED4through LED7 with four different colors from each other emit light toblink.

The test results where the resistance values for the resistors and thecapacity of the condensers are established as follows are explainednext: R24=270 Ω, R25=22 Ω, R26=180 Ω, R27=56 Ω, R28=220 kΩ, R29=500 kΩ,R30=750 kΩ, R31=1 MΩ, and C9, C10, C11 and C12=10 μF. Charging outsideduring the day for 6 hours and light emission to blink during the nightwere repeated, and the light emission continued even after 1 month.

Embodiment 7 (FIG. 23 and FIG. 24)

Embodiment 7 is described next. The present embodiment is an examplewhere the self light-emitting device of the present invention is adoptedto a self light-emitting pendant. As shown in FIGS. 23 and 24, a selflight-emitting pendant 601 is equipped with six spherical photo-electricconverting elements 602, a light emitting diode 603, a circular printedsubstrate 606, a sealing member 604, a light emitting control circuit605, a photo-detecting sensor 623, twelve beads 651 and a hook 652.

The spherical photo-electric converting elements 602 are similar to thespherical photo-electric converting elements 2 in Embodiment 1, and theyare arranged on the printed substrate 606 and connected in series by aconducting wire 607. The light emitting diode 603 and the twelve beads651 are also arranged on the printed substrate 606, and the lightemitting control circuit 605 is mounted on the rear surface of theprinted substrate 606.

The sealing member 604 is formed with transparent epoxy rein, and thesix converting elements 602, the light emitting diode 603, the lowersides of the twelve beads 651, the light emitting control circuit 605and the photo-detecting sensor 623 are buried into the sealing member604, and the whole is integrated and fixed by the sealing member 604.The front surface of the sealing member 604 is formed to be a partialspherical convex and functions as a lens. The portions of the twelvebeads 651 other than the lower sides are exposed to the outside of thefront surface of the sealing member 604.

The beads 651 are formed with a slightly colored transparent syntheticresin, and function as a reflection member that can reflect light,respectively. The hook 652 is integrally formed with the sealing member604, and it is provided on the lower part of the side of the selflight-emitting pendant 601 in an extended condition.

The light emitting diode 603 is arranged in the center of the selflight-emitting pendant 601, and the six converting elements 602 arearranged to form a circle around the periphery of the light emittingdiode 603. The twelve beads 651 are arranged over the entire surface ofthe self light-emitting pendant 601, and they are arranged adjacent tothe converting elements 602 and the light emitting diode 603.

The light emitting control circuit 605, for example, is a circuit, whichis the same as that in FIG. 5 of Embodiment 1, and the photo-detectingsensor 623 has a cadmium sulfide (CdS) element. The light emittingcontrol circuit 605 is for determining either the daytime or the nightaccording to a detection signal of the photodetecing sensor 623; forcharging the electric power generated by the six converting elements 602during the day; and for allowing the light emitting diode 603 to emitlight to blink only during the night. When light is received, the lightreflected on the surfaces of the beads 651 reach the converting elements602, and they contribute to the generation of electric power. When thelight emitting diode 603 emits light, the light emitted from the lightemitting diode 603 are diffusely reflected on the beads 651 and theyshimmer beautifully.

The converting elements 602 are small but have a very similarconfiguration to the beads 651, respectively, so they also function asornament along with the beads 651. The minute beads can be dispersedwithin the sealing member 604 on the surface side of the printedsubstrate 606, and in that case, more light can reach the six convertingelements 602 due to scattering of light on the surfaces of the beads,and the power generation efficiency is enhanced. When the light emittingdiode 603 emits light, the light emitted from there are scattered on thesurfaces of the beads and shimmer beautifully.

If a chain or a string is tied to the hook 652, the self light-emittingdevice 601 can be utilized as a pendant, and if a setting or a pin forbrooch is attached, it can be used as a brooch.

Next, this self light-emitting pendant 601 could fully charge anelectrical double layer capacitor (2 F) in one hour with the fineweather outside, and it emitted light to blink for 3 hours during thenight.

As described above, since the photo-detecting sensor 623 is provided,the light emission automatically starts at night. However, if a switchis established instead of the photo-detecting sensor 623, light can beemitted only when the switch is turned on. In addition, multiple lightemitting diodes 603 with different luminance colors from each other areestablished, and light can be emitted only when the switch is turned on,as well.

Further, multiple light emitting diodes 603 with different luminancecolors from each other are established, and the multiple light emittingdiodes can blink by the light emitting control circuit 505 as inEmbodiment 6. Not limiting to a brooch or a pendant, if it isminiaturized, it can be formed to be a strap for a cellar phone, a ringor a button, so various use applications can be expected in theilluminating accessories field.

Partially modified embodiments of the Embodiments 1 through 7 aredescribed next.

1) In the embodiments, it is constructed such that the light emittingdiode(s) blinks. However, it can be constructed that the light emittingdiode(s) always emits light. When this construction, various constantcurrent circuits and constant voltage circuits using various activeelements including an IC for electric current control, an integratedcircuit, such as an operational amplifier, a bipolar transistor, an FETand a diode, and passive elements, such as resistors, condensers orcoils, can be applied. For these electronic components, normalelectronic components for mounting on a substrate, including a dip typeIC, can be used. However, from the points of miniaturization and lightweight, it is desirable to use electronic components for mounting on asurface, including a surface mounting type IC, a chip resistor or a chipcondenser. Further, a light emitting control circuit, a charge controlcircuit and a condenser can be established on a separate substrate,respectively. For example, the light emitting control circuit and thecharge control circuit are arranged on one substrate, and only thecondenser is separately arranged and it can be connected using a copperwire, generally. In particular, when applying a secondary battery as acondenser, when the secondary battery is deteriorated, only thesecondary battery can be replaced, so the life of the selflight-emitting device can be extended with a simple maintenance.

2) In the embodiment, a p-type silicon semiconductor is used for thespherical crystal 10 and it comprises the spherical photo-electricconverting elements 2. However, as shown in FIG. 8, the sphericalphoto-electric converting elements 2B can comprise the spherical crystal10A formed with an n-type silicon semiconductor. This sphericalphoto-electric converting element 2B is equipped with a p-type diffusionlayer 12A formed in the vicinity of the surface of the spherical crystal10A for the purpose of forming the pn-joint 11A; a negative electrode13A electrically connected to the n-type silicon of the sphericalcrystal; a positive electrode 14A formed at a position facing thenegative electrode 13A relative to the center of the spherical crystal10A; and an insulating coating 15A formed on the surface where theelectrodes 13A and 14A are not formed. In addition, metal paste films16A and 17A are coated over the surfaces of the negative electrode 13Aand the positive electrode 14A, respectively.

3) In the embodiments, the spherical photo-electric converting elementsare formed with silicon. However, the material is not limited tosilicon, but a IV-group semiconductor, such as germanium, a III-V-groupsemiconductor or a II-VI-group semiconductor can form the sphericalphoto-electric converting elements.

4) In the embodiments, the light emitting diode is formed with anAlGaAs-base material. However, taking the visibility into consideration,another light emitting diode formed with an AlGaInP-base or AlGaInN-basematerial can be applied, and a resin-molded light emitting diode or asurface-mounted light emitting diode can be applied. In particular, whenapplying the resin-molded light emitting diode, a projection lens is notformed but the light emitting diode can be arranged in an exposedmanner. In addition, when constructing like this, the construction wherethe light emitting diode is detachable enables mounting of any desiredcolor light emitting diode by a user, so fanciness can be improved. Inaddition, any light source other than a light emitting diode can beapplied. However, it is desirable to apply a luminous body where lightemission at a high luminance can be obtained with a small electriccurrent.

5) A reflection film generally can be formed around a light emittingdiode. This construction enables the transmission of the light from thelight emitting diode reflecting outward, so the visibility from theoutside during the night can be improved.

6) In the embodiments, the sealing member including the lens members isformed with epoxy resin. However, it can be formed with a material thatcan transmit a light with pre-determined wavelength through, where thespherical photo-electric converting elements can generate electricpower, such as silicon resin, acrylic resin, polycarbonate resin,fluorine resin, polyimide resin, polyvinyl resin, ethylenevinyl acetateresin, naphtlane rein, or cellulose acetate. For example, forming with asynthetic rein having flexibility enables the shape change of a selflight-emitting device, and the structure can be very strong against anyimpact from the outside. Further, mixing a dispersing agent into asynthetic resin also enables the improvement of uniformity of the lightemission.

7) In the embodiments, the lens members and the sealing member areintegrally formed with epoxy resin. However, the lens members and thesealing member can be separately manufactured, and each of them can beadhered using an adhesive. When this construction, forming the lensmembers and the sealing member with the same material enables theenhancement of the strength of the adhesion by an adhesive.

In the meantime, the lens members and the sealing member can be formedwith different materials. When this construction, as long as a condenserlens member can transmit a light with pre-determined wavelength through,where the spherical photo-electric converting elements can generateelectric power, it is acceptable, and the materials to form a projectionlens and a sealing member are not especially limited. For example, thematerial for the projection lens member can be colored, and containingof a fluorescent substance or a phosphorescent substance enables theprovision of a self light-emitting device that excels in the fanciness.Further, the sealing member can be formed with a resin with plasticity,such as polyolefin resin, polyamide resin, polypropylene resin,polyester resin, vinyl chloride resin or urethane resin.

8) The configuration of the condenser lens member is appropriatelymodifiable, such as hemispheric or flat. When changing the configurationof the condenser lens, it is desirable that a portion of the sphericalphoto-electric converting element is positioned lower than the condenserlens. This construction results in the improvement of the powergeneration efficacy relative to incident light from right above;concurrently, it enables the maintenance of constant light emissionefficacy relative to incident light from an inclined direction, as well.Further, it can be constructed such that a reflector film is establishedonto the condenser lens member so as to guide light to the sphericalphoto-electric converting elements.

9) As a condenser, various secondary batteries including amanganese-lithium secondary battery, a lithium-ion battery, anickel-hydrogen battery and a nickel-cadmium battery, and a capacitorwith comparatively great capacity, such as an electric double layercapacitor, can be applied. When considering the miniaturization andlight weight of the entire device, it is desirable to use a coin typemanganese-lithium secondary battery or an electric double layercapacitor. However, taking the deterioration due to the repetitivecharge or discharge into consideration, it is desirable to apply acapacitor, such as an electric double layer capacitor, rather than asecondary battery.

10) As a photo-detecting sensor, various sensors, typically aphoto-electric converting element, such as photodiode where an outputvoltage or electric current changes depending upon the quantity ofreceived light, can be used. In addition, a spherical photo-electricconverting elements can be established as a photo-detecting sensor. Thisconstruction enables the additional improvement from the aspects ofminiaturization and light weight and the reduction of production cost.

11) The number of the spherical photo-electric converting elements andthe light emitting diodes arranged in the self light-emitting device isappropriately modifiable. It is desirable that the number of thespherical photo-electric converting elements is determined by taking thedesired power generation and light condensing rate of a condenser lensgenerally into consideration. Further, the arrangement of the sphericalphoto-electric converting elements and the light emitting diodes is notparticularly limited to the ones in the embodiments, but the sphericalphoto-electric converting elements can be linearly arranged or arrangedwith multiple lines and rows.

12) A reflector film can be formed on a lower side of the sphericalphoto-electric converting elements. With this formation, light, which isnot received by the spherical photo-electric converting elements, can bereflected to the spherical photo-electric converting elements, so itenables the enhancement of the light emission efficacy.

13) The configuration of the self light-emitting device can be variouslyformed, such as circular, rectangular or star-shaped according to aplanar view.

The present invention is not limited to the described embodiments, and aperson of ordinary skill in the field of this technology pertaining tothe present invention can add various modifications to the embodimentswithin the scope of the present invention and implement them, and thepresent invention includes these modified embodiments.

1. A self light-emitting device, wherein, the self light-emitting devicecomprises a spherical photo-electric converting element having asubstantially spherical light receiving surface; a lens member thatguides or condenses light to said spherical photo-electric convertingelement; a luminous body that emit light using an electric powergenerated by said spherical photo-electric converting element; and asealing member embedding above described whole elements integrally. 2.The self light-emitting device according to claim 1, wherein, the selflight-emitting device comprises a plurality of said sphericalphoto-electric converting elements connected in series.
 3. The selflight-emitting device according to claim 2, wherein, the selflight-emitting device comprises a condenser for accumulating theelectric power generated by said spherical photo-electric convertingelements.
 4. The self light-emitting device according to claim 3,wherein, the self light-emitting device comprises a light emittingcontrol circuit for controlling a conduction of electric power to saidluminous body.
 5. The self light-emitting device according to claim 4,wherein, a photo-detecting sensor is incorporated into said lightemitting control circuit.
 6. The self light-emitting device according toany of claim 5, wherein, said light emitting control circuit comprisesan astable multivibrator including two transistors and multipleresistors; one end of said photo-detecting sensor is connected to anearth and the other end is connected to a base of one of saidtransistors; and, said resistors connected to the bases of said twotransistors, respectively, have much greater resistance values comparedto those of the resistors connected to the collectors of saidtransistors.
 7. The selflight-emitting device according to claim 1,wherein, a charge control circuit for controlling charging to saidcondenser is provided.
 8. The self light-emitting device according toclaim 2, wherein, said lens member and said sealing member are formedwith the same type of synthetic resin material.
 9. The selflight-emitting device according to claim 2, wherein, a partial-sphericalmetallic reflection member for reflecting incidental light to a lowersurface side of said spherical photo-electric converting elements. 10.The self light-emitting device according to claim 9, wherein, saidmetallic reflection member is made from a lead frame.
 11. The selflight-emitting device according to claim 5, wherein, saidphoto-detecting sensor is made from an ultraviolet sensor, and adirect-current amplifying circuit to amplify a voltage according to theintensity of ultraviolet rays detected by said ultraviolet sensor andtransmit the amplified voltage is provided in said light emittingcontrol circuit.
 12. The self light-emitting device according to claim11, wherein, a plurality of said luminous bodies are provided, and saidlight emitting control circuit allows either of said luminous bodies toemit light based upon the output of said ultraviolet sensor.
 13. Theself light-emitting device according to claim 4, wherein, a schmitttrigger inverter and a resistor are incorporated in parallel for thepurpose of blinking said luminous body.
 14. The self light-emittingdevice according to claim 3, wherein, said condenser is a manganesedioxide-lithium secondary battery.
 15. The self light-emitting deviceaccording to claim 1, wherein, a reflection member formed from atransparent resin material where a light is reflectible is providedadjacent to said spherical photo-electric converting element and saidluminous body.
 16. The self light-emitting device according to claim 5,wherein, said photo-detecting sensor is formed from cadmium sulfide(CdS).